Systems and methods to facilitate transactions

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods to facilitate programmatic access to a network-based commerce facility via a network are described. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a request from a third party application via the network at the network based commerce facility. The request performs an action pertaining to electronic commerce and being one of a plurality of requests recognized by the network-based commerce facility. In responsive to the request, the method performs the action pertaining to the electronic commerce and communicates from a result of the action from the network-based commerce facility to the third party application in a programmatically accessible format.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/619,911, filed on Sep. 14, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/999,618, filed Oct. 31, 2001, both ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of electroniccommerce (e-commerce) and, more specifically, to facilitatingprogrammatic access to a network-based commerce facility such as, forexample, an Internet-based auction facility.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some of the advantages offered by a typical network-based commercefacility, such as an Internet-based auction facility, are thesimplicity, promptness and convenience of participating in the onlinetrading process. Conducting transaction such as an auction over anetwork-based commerce facility has become very popular. Demands forusing the network-based commerce facility to transact business haveincreased drastically.

Many businesses have seen this as an opportunity to expand and enhanceservices associated with the services provided by the network-basedcommerce facility. E-commerce development can be very expensive. Thecosts to drive traffic are high and their effectiveness is questionable.Start up companies, businesses, or developers cannot easily develop anetwork-based commerce facility. These parties (e.g., developers) havedeveloped third-party applications that create programs to enhance userexperience for users of the network-based commerce facility. Forinstance, these developers create programs that the network-basedcommerce facility may not have. Alternatively, these developers may wishto integrate their current applications to work with a particularpopular network-base commerce facility and extend their platforms intonew business areas.

These third-party application programs may be extremely valuable forusers who conduct a great deal of business transactions using thenetwork-based commerce facility and these users would like to have theinformation presented to attract buyers in a way that may be differentfrom the network-based commerce facility. The developers of the type ofsituation mentioned above may also include businesses having many ofitems listed for trading activities on the network-based commercefacility and may wish to have the users interact with the network-basedcommerce facility through the businesses' Websites. Thus, thethird-party developers may be developing the programs to expand servicesprovided to their clients.

However, current technology does not enable easy access to the valuabledata on a particular network-based commerce facility to assist indeveloping a third-party application. To develop the third-partyapplication programs for these businesses' Web sites, the developersneed to access the network-based commerce facility just like an ordinaryuser would.

FIG. 1 illustrates that like a user of a network-based commercefacility, for instance, an online auction facility 100, the developers(or through their application programs) can only access thenetwork-based commerce facility by accessing a user interface 106. Theuser interface 106 contains application programs that accept requestsfrom the all users including the developers. These application programshowever, typically emit HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or otherformats that enable the users to easily interact with the network-basedcommerce facility. The results containing the data are presented in someparticular predetermined set up and layout.

The developers then have to “scrape” the results to obtain the essentialdata that the developers like to use. Scraping occurs when thedevelopers interact with the database 102 through the user interface 106to get the data that the developers like to incorporate into theirapplications. To do this, the developers utilize routines that searchand extract the necessary elements from the HTML results. Essentially,scraping is emulating browsers such as Internet explore or Netscape thatare used to interact with the user interface 106.

One problem with current technology is that whenever the layout or setup for the user interface 106, a major problem presents itself. Routineswritten to search and extract data received from the user interface 106will not work when the layout or the set up is changed, even onlyslightly. Because the data received by third-party application are inHTML, the routine must be precise to indicate where to search and whereto extract the data. A change in the layout or the set up thus leads tothe need to rewrite the routines in order to extract necessary data.

Moreover, the third-party applications under the current art slow downthe particular network-based commerce facility with the amount ofinformation that these third-party applications request. One cause forthat is that the third-party applications typically request for muchmore data than an ordinary user's request. This activity hinders otherordinary users from accessing the network-based commerce facility.

The third-party applications access the network-based commerce facilitywith no special access privilege different from an ordinary user. It isthus difficult for the developers to create applications that enhanceuser experience without undue and continuous efforts to accommodate forany changes. The developers are thus left vulnerable and theirapplications are consequently unreliable due to the constant changes inthe set up or layout at the particular network-based commerce facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses methods and apparatuses for facilitatinga programmatic access to a network-based commerce facility via anetwork. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes receiving arequest from a third party application via the network at the networkbased commerce facility. The request performs an action pertaining toelectronic commerce and being one of a plurality of requests recognizedby the network-based commerce facility. In responsive to the request,the method performs the action pertaining to the electronic commerce andcommunicates from a result of the action from the network-based commercefacility to the third party application in a programmatically accessibleformat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary prior art embodiment of using a third-partyapplication to facilitate trading with network-based commerce facilitythrough a third party;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of one embodiment of anetwork-based commerce facility;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of one embodiment of adatabase maintained by a database engine server;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary diagrammatic representation of oneembodiment of a user table within the database;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary diagrammatic representation of oneembodiment of a locations table within the database;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a network-basedcommerce facility of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the present inventionshowing a network-based commerce facility having a programmatic accessapplication for access by a third-party application;

FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary differences between an HTML data record andan XML data record;

FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary call functions and their specific tasks;

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrates examples of online businesses that canutilize a third-party application of the present invention toincorporate a popular network-based commerce facility into their ownapplications.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acomputer system that can implement exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and apparatuses for facilitating a programmatic access to anetwork-based commerce facility such as, for example, an Internet-basedauction facility are described. In the following description, forpurposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without these specific details.

Terminology

For the purposes of the present specification, the term “transaction”shall be taken to include any communications between two or moreentities and shall be construed to include, but not be limited to,commercial transactions including sale and purchase transactions,auctions, providing feedback, accessing e-mail, and the like.

Transaction Facility

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network-basedcommerce facility in the form of an Internet-based auction facility 10.While an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is describedwithin the context of an auction facility, it will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that the invention will find application inmany different types of computer-based, and network-based, commercefacilities.

The auction facility 10 includes one or more of a number of types offront-end servers, namely page servers 12 that deliver web pages (e.g.,markup language documents), picture servers 14 that dynamically deliverimages to be displayed within Web pages, listing servers 16, ComputerGraphic Interface (CGI) servers 18 that provide an intelligent interfaceto the back-end of facility 10, and search servers 20 that handle searchrequests to the facility 10. E-mail servers 21 provide, inter alia,automated e-mail communications to users of the facility 10.

The back-end servers include a database engine server 22, a search indexserver 24 and a credit card database server 26, each of which maintainsand facilitates access to a respective database, for example, database23.

The Internet-based auction facility 10 may be accessed by a clientprogram 30, such as a browser (e.g., the Internet Explorer distributedby Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash.) that executes on a client machine32 and accesses the facility 10 via a network such as, for example, theInternet 34. Other examples of networks that a client may utilize toaccess the auction facility 10 include a wide area network (WAN), alocal area network (LAN), a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network),or the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) network.

Database Structure

FIG. 3 is a database diagram illustrating an exemplary database 23,maintained by and accessed via the database engine server 22, which atleast partially implements and supports the auction facility 10. Thedatabase 23 may, in one embodiment, be implemented as a relationaldatabase, and includes a number of tables having entries, or records,that are linked by indices and keys. In an alternative embodiment, thedatabase 23 may be implemented as collection of objects in anobject-oriented database.

Central to the database 23 is a user table 40, which contains a recordfor each user of the auction facility 10. A user may operate as aseller, buyer, or both, within the auction facility 10. A userinformation table 41 is linked to the user table 40 and includes moredetailed information about each user. The database 23 also includes itemtables 42 that may be linked to the user table 40. Specifically, thetables 42 include a seller items table 44 and a bidder items table 46. Auser record in the user table 40 may be linked to multiple items thatare being, or have been, auctioned via the facility 10. A link indicateswhether the user is a seller or a bidder (or buyer) with respect toitems for which records exist within the item tables 42. The database 23also includes a note table 48 populated with note records that may belinked to one or more item records within the item tables 42 and/or toone or more user records within the user table 40. Each note recordwithin the table 48 may include, inter alia, a comment, description,history or other information pertaining to an item being auction via theauction facility 10, or to a user of the auction facility 10.

A number of other tables are also shown to be linked to the user table40, namely a user past aliases table 50, a feedback table 52, a feedbackdetails table 53, a bids table 54, an accounts table 56, an accountbalances table 58 and a transaction record table 60. In addition, thedatabase 23 includes a location table 59 which stores valid demographicinformation that is used to verify registration information submitted byusers during the registration process.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment ofthe user table 40 that is populated with records, or entries, for eachuser of the auction facility 10. The table 40 includes a user identifiercolumn 62 that stores a unique identifier for each user. A name column64 stores a first name, a middle initial and a last name for each user.An address column 66 stores full address information for each user, e.g.a street name and number, city, zip code, state, etc. A phone numbercolumn 68 stores a home phone number for each user. It may be desirableto have each user verified, for example, through some identity checkingprocess to verify that the user is who it is purporting to be prior togranting access to a particular user. Verification detail column 70 andverification rating column 72 may be included in the user table 40 toindicate details and rating of each individual's verification process.

It will be appreciated that any information other than that describedabove may populate the user table 40 without loss of generality.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagrammatic representation of an embodiment ofthe location table 59. The location table 59 stores a list of currentzip codes and associated location information. In one embodiment, thedata stored in the location table 59 is imported from a commercialdatabase and is periodically completely re-populated with a new releaseof the commercial database. Alternatively, the data stored in thelocations table 59 is obtained from various sources including variouscommercial databases and/or the auction facility 10 itself. The table 59includes a zip code column 80 that stores a list of current zip codes inthe U.S. and abroad. Each zip code corresponds to a valid cityinformation stored in a city column 82. A flag stored in a column 102indicates whether the city information stored in the column 82 is for amain city or an alias city. The zip code information stored in thecolumn 80 is also correlated with areas code information stored in anarea code column 92 and with other location information stored in astate column 84, country name column 86, country code column 88, countrycolumn 90, time zone column 94, latitude column 98, and longitude column100. A column 96 includes a flag indicating, for each entry, whetherdaylight savings time is adopted in this geographic area. A sourcecolumn 104 stores a value indicating the source of the record, i.e.,whether the record was imported from a certain commercial database,created by an administrator of the auction facility 10, or wasoriginated by other source.

It will be appreciated that other demographic information may alsopopulate the location table 59.

In another embodiment, the auction facility 10 can be described asillustrated in FIG. 6. The database 23 stores all of the information(e.g., user records, item records, etc. . . . ) maintained by theauction facility 10 as discussed above. A commerce engine 602 is furthercoupled to the database 23. The commerce engine 602 contains all of thebusiness logic, for instance, how the auction for the auction facility10 works. This includes rules such as how to calculate the highest bid,to set the minimum bid for a particular item, determine what fields arenecessary and optional for a particular item, or in short, all of thelogic of how to manage the auction facility 10. The commerce engine 602functions based on program codes that are configured to access theinformation stored in the database 23. The codes can be written in anysuitable programming language that can access the information stored inthe databases 23 for instance, in C++ language.

Continuing with the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a set user interfaces604 is coupled to the commerce engine 602. The set of user interfacesincludes application programs that are run from the commerce engine 602that provide user interface for the auction facility 10. For example,when a user visits a web site belonging to the auction facility 10, theuser interacts with the user interface application programs included inthe user interface 604 which essentially provide a browser for the userto interact with. In one example, the browser presents a humanlyreadable interface for the user to interact with the auction facility700. Through the application programs, (details below) the user caninteract with the commerce engine and the database to obtain or submitthe desired information. After the data are extracted from the database,the data are presented to the user in the human readable format forinteraction. One well known example of a data format that can bepresented to the user for such interaction is called Hyper Text MarkupLanguage (HTML). HTML defines the page layout, font, graphic elements aswell as hyper links to other documents on the website of the auctionfacility 10. (See example in FIG. 8).

A user of the auction facility 10 is typically connected to the Internetvia any suitable method, for instance, through a conventional cable anda modem, wireless access modem and an antenna, etc. A user can also be acomputer with programs to act on behalf of the actual user. Typically,the user is connected to the Internet by issuing to the auction facility700 a HyperText Transport Protocol, (HTTP) well known in the field. HTTPis a communication protocol used to connect to servers on theWorldWideWeb, for instance, servers 12, 14, 16, and 20 of the auctionfacility 10. HTTP also transmits HTML pages to browsers utilized by theuser to access the auction facility 10.

Programmatic Access

The programmatic access application of the present invention facilitatesa programmatic access to a network-based commerce facility via anetwork. The method includes receiving a request from a third partyapplication via the network at the network based commerce facility. Therequest pertains to an electronic commerce action and is one of aplurality of requests recognized by the network-based commerce facility.In response to this request, the network-based commerce facilityperforms this action and communicates the results to the partyapplication in a programmatically accessible format.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention inwhich a programmatic access application is incorporated into the auctionfacility 700. The programmatic access application includes a method anda system to grant a sanctioned access to the third-party applicationsthat wish extract data from or submit data to the auction facility 700,on behalf of some user(s).

In one exemplary embodiment, a sanctioned access means that only thoseapplications with a granted access can access the programmatic accessapplication. Exemplary methods of granting a sanctioned access includemanual authorization (e.g., telephone registration, mail registration,and registration in person), electronic authorization (e.g., electronicemail), or any other convenient methods of allowing access to a databaseknown in the art. In one example, the programmatic access application706 is only available based on a pre-authorization scheme. In such anevent, the third-party application must have been granted anauthorization to access the programmatic access application 706. Thepre-authorization scheme may also be a business model set up by theauction facility 700 to charge for access based on a predeterminedmodel. In yet another example, the auction facility 700 may charge lessfor access to the programmatic access application 706 at off-peak hoursand more for traffic hours (on-peak hours).

As will be apparent below, the auction facility 700 of the presentembodiment enables the developers to use the third-party applications toeasily extract raw data from the auction facility 700 to customize theirown e-commerce trading over the Internet.

In the exemplary embodiments, the programmatic access applicationsenables the third-party applications to act as intermediary betweenusers and the auction facility 700. The third-party applications furtherfacilitate a customized interface for businesses to convey informationbetween the auction facility 700 and the users. The customized interfaceprovides functionality and specialized operations not otherwise affordedby the auction facility 700 interface, such as an application designedfor specific business needs.

A third-party application of the present embodiment may extract datafrom the auction facility 700 in their raw format to enable easyintegration of the data into other applications having no associationwith the auction facility 700. This data extraction is done through theprogrammatic access application. The third-party application may submitdata to the auction facility 700 on behalf of users or otherapplications that wish to submit items to the auction facility 700 fore-commerce trading purposes.

The third-party application may reside on a computer host 718, whichcommunicates to the auction facility 700 via a network, e.g., theInternet 714. The third-party application may also communicates to amachine used by a user 716 via a network, also, e.g., the Internet 714.The third-party application may communicate to the machine through someother manner, e.g., a local software, an intra-network connection, or alocal trading facility. Alternatively, the third-party application mayreside in the same machine as the one used by the user (e.g., a user716).

The following sections discuss in details the various embodiments of thepresent invention.

In one example, the auction facility 700 includes databases 23, acommerce engine 702, and a user interface 704. A user 716 interacts withthe auction facility 700 via the user interface 704. The databases 23are similar to the databases described with regard to FIG. 2 above. Thecommerce engine 702 is similar to the commerce engine 602 describedabove. The user interface 704 includes several applications that theuser 716 can interact with. For example, the user interface 704 mayinclude a registering application 712, a listing application 710, asearching application 708 and other applications not shown.

In one example, these applications have file formats called “DynamicLink Library” (DLL) having the extension “.dll.” As well known, DLLapplications are executable program modules that perform some functions.When needed, these DLL applications are called for by a runningapplication (not shown) and are loaded to perform any specificfunctions. Thus, upon requests submitted to the auction facility 700,the appropriate application program is executed to perform the functionrequested.

The user 716 of the auction facility 700 sends request to the auctionfacility 700 through the Internet 714. In one example, all of therequests coming from the user 716 and results returning from the auctionfacility 700 are transported via HTTP and in the HTML format. It will beappreciated that other formats could be possible so long as the formatsenable the user 716 to interact with the auction facility 700 in an easyand convenient manner, (e.g., in a humanly readable format).

As mentioned above, data in the form of HTML contains presentationspecifications including fonts, layout, set up, etc. HTML data includescodes to define the format, change or hypertext links. Typically, HTMLtags are surrounded by the angle bracket (e.g., <element>). HTML formatis one of the most popular presentation languages used to present datain the World Wide Web. For instance, the auction facility 700 may haveweb sites or web pages that are built with HTML tags which defines thepage layout, font, and graphic elements as well as the hypertext linksto other documents in the World Wide Web. The user 716 thus interactwith these web pages when conduct trading with the auction facility 700.

In the present invention, the user 716 can interact with the auctionfacility 700 via the third-party application. The third-partyapplication resides on a host computer 718 with a connection to theauction facility 700 and sends requests to the auction facility 700 in aformat that enables the third-party application to reach a programmaticaccess application 706. The programmatic access application 706 is oneof the application programs included in the user interface 704. It ispreferred that the programmatic access application 706 is dedicated tocommunicating only with the third-party application.

In a preferred embodiment, the data communicated through theprogrammatic access application 706 have formats that are specified andrecognized by the auction facility 700. Furthermore, a program is neededto submit or access the data or to access the results. The formatspecified by and recognized by the auction facility 700 is one thatenables exchanges of raw data. In this embodiment, the data transferredunder this format do not contain presentation specification such aslayout setup, or font such as that seen in the HTML format. Instead, thecore of the data contains the values that the third-party applicationneeds in order to set up its own presentation of the data to the user716.

In this preferred embodiment, an XML format is used to transfer databetween the third party application and the auction facility 700. Therequests sent from the third-party application are in this format which,does not specify any font, layout, or set up, (e.g., XML). Likewise, theresults returned to the host computer 718 by the auction facility 700are in the same formats (e.g., XML). Raw data is thus transferredbetween the auction facility 700 and the third-party application withoutany layout or set up specification.

FIG. 8 shows a table 800, which illustrates some basic differencesbetween an HTML record 802 and an XML record 804. As well known, theHTML stands for HyperText Markup Language including tags to specify howdata looks (e.g., layout, setup, and font) and the XML stands foreXtensible Markup Language including tags to specify the data values.Both languages are well known in the Internet community.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a listing of an item in HTML and XMLformats. In example 852, an item is currently on sale, for the price of$182.50 with quantity being 1. A user may have requested for a specificcategory and this item is being the only one listed under this category.An HTML record 802 is what the user ultimately receives. When the usermakes a request through the third-party application, and the third-partyapplication submits a request on behalf of the user to the auctionfacility 700, an XML record 804 is what the third-party applicationreceives. As shown in the table 800, tags in the HTML record 802 specifyname of the item and the price for the item each with font size and fontwidth information. On the other hand, the XML record 804 only specifiesthe values. Thus, the extraction of the actual data values from the XMLrecord is easier than that of the HTML record.

It will be appreciated that table 800 is only an illustration, the HTMLrecord 802 and the XML record 804 may specify much more information thanshown without deviating from the scope of the present invention. In anyevent, the results from an XML record 804 are much more simple andshort.

An HTML record is bulky. Thus, it is difficult to extract useful datavalues (e.g., prices, quantities, and item names) from an HTML record.In an HTML record, the data are intermixed among specification tags,which are not useful to those third-party applications, which only haveneeds for the actual data values. In order to extract the data valuesthat came in the HTML record, a search must be conducted to find theuseful data values and then the values can be extracted for further use.An XML record, on the other hand, is not bulky and is much easier forvalue extractions. To obtain the useful data, the XML record only needsto be parsed using any conventional parser currently available. Theextraction of the data values from the XML record does not involvedealing with the unnecessary or undesirable extraction of the valuesfrom other information such as set up or layout specifications that comewith the HTML record.

In one exemplary embodiment, the user 716 accesses information from theauction facility 700 by sending an HTML request to the third-partyapplication. This may occur when the user 716 is a client of the thirdparty application and wants to participate in trading transactionsoccurring in the auction facility 700 through the third-partyapplication. In one example, the third-party application is developedfor a business that has many items listed for sale in the auctionfacility 700. And, the business wishes to integrate data from theauction facility 700 with the business's own applications. Moreover,these applications may not be available in the auction facility 700. Thebusiness thus uses the third-party application to facilitate trading ofitems that it posts on the auction facility 700 together with offeringthese applications to its users. In some instances, the business maylike to have its own clients conduct trading using new technology notyet available on the auction facility 700, such as handheld devices orWeb-enable devices (e.g., phones, pagers, and more). The programmaticaccess application 706 thus, facilitates the third-party application incollecting the necessary trading data from the auction facility 700 topresent them to the clients of this business in any customized form.

In one embodiment, the programmatic access application 706 is a userinterface application residing on the user interface 704 of the auctionfacility 700. The programmatic access 706 enables the third partyapplication to access the auction facility 700 in a way that isdifferent from the way user 716 accesses the auction facility directly.For instance, as shown in FIG. 7, the user 716 interacts with theauction facility 700 via the Internet 714 with an HTML format requestwhereas the third-party application interacts with the auction facility700 via an XML format request. The data that the user 716 obtainsdirectly form the auction facility 700 has layout and set upspecifications such that the user 716's browser can display the data ina form that enables the user 716 to immediately interact with theauction facility 700. The data that the third-party application obtainscontains values (e.g., raw data) with no presentation specification onhow these values will be presented. The values can thus be easilyextracted and manipulated into any customized form to be incorporatedinto other websites.

In one embodiment, the user 716 sends a request to the third-partyapplication via a network connection (e.g., Internet 714). The requestpertains to an electronic commerce transaction, which is one of aplurality of requests that are recognized by the auction facility 700.In another example, the request is also one of a plurality of requestsrecognized by the business that utilizes the third-party application. Afew examples of the request are actions in which the user 716 requeststo register as a new or return user, sell an item, trade an item, buy anitem, obtain information, submit information, update submittedinformation, or access a user profile with the auction facility 700. Allof these requests ultimately reach the auction facility 700 but theymust first go through the third-party application.

More specifically, the request can be an action that requests thethird-party application to put an item up for sale or auction, re-listthe item, change the item's attributes, check for errors beforesubmitting the item, add text to a description field for a listed item,or search for listed items. The request can also be an action thatrequests the third-party application to retrieve auction fees associatedwith the listing items for sale, information about a listed item, allitems listed in a particular category, list all the items a particularend-user is selling, or list all of the items a particular user has bidon. The request can also be an action that requests the third-partyapplication to a list of high bidders for an auction, information abouta single user, feedback scores for a single user, a URL to a logo of theauction facility, an official time from the auction facility or to leavefeedback about a user. Further, the request can also be an action thatrequests the third-party application to activate a test user, and toretrieve the custom categories, account information for a user, and awatch list of the user. And, the request can be any information that theuser needs to submit to the auction facility, for example, a feedback ona particular user, new items for sale and new account for the user. Inone example, the request sent by the user 716 to the thirdparty-applications can be in the HTML format transferred over the HTTPtransport.

The third-party application 718 then sends an appropriate request to theauction facility 700. Unlike the requests from the user 716 to thethird-party application, the appropriate request sent to the auctionfacility 700 has to be in the format specified by the programmaticaccess application 706 and in one example, such format is an XML format.The appropriate request requests to perform an action pertaining toelectronic commerce and is one of a plurality of requests recognized bythe auction facility 700. The appropriate request is also an action thatthe third-party application submits on behalf of the user 716. Forinstance, this request requests to register the user 716 as a new orreturn user, sell an item, trade an item, buy an item, obtaininformation, submit information, update submitted information, or accessa user profile that the user 716 wishes to do with the auction facility700 but through the third-party application.

In another embodiment, the user 716 does not need to know that thethird-party application 718 is actual an intermediary between the user716 and the auction facility 700. The user 716 interacts with a userinterface that is different from the user interface 704. This userinterface can be one that is custom-designed for a particular businessthat has its own unique applications and now wishes to incorporate thetrading on the auction facility 700 into the business's applications.The user interface that is set up using the data obtained through thecommunication between the auction facility 700 and the third-partyapplication is designed such that the data integrate into the userinterface with no reference to the auction facility 700. The user caninteract with this user interface not realizing that the data actuallywas obtained through a third-party application which submitted requestto the programmatic access application 706. The interaction occurs inreal time such that no dramatic delay is experienced due to thedifferent way that data is obtained, e.g., through the third-partyapplication and the programmatic access application 706.

The appropriate request sent by the third-party application can be anaction that requests the auction facility 700 to put an item up for saleor auction, re-list the item, change the item's attributes, check forerrors before submitting the item, add text to a description field for alisted item, or search for listed items on behalf of the user 716. Therequest can also be an action that requests the auction facility 700 tolist auction fees associated with the listing items for sale,information about a listed item, all items listed in a particularcategory, all the items a particular end-user is selling, or all of theitems a particular user has bid on. The request can also be an actionthat requests the auction facility 700 to get a list of high bidders foran auction, information about a single user, feedback scores for asingle user, a URL to a logo of the auction facility 700, an officialtime from the auction facility 700 or to leave feedback about a user.Further, the request can also be an action that requests the auctionfacility 700 to activate a test user, and to retrieve the customcategories, account information for a user, and a watch list of theuser. The request can also be any information that the third-partyapplication needs to submit on behalf of the user 716 such as a feedbackon a particular user, new items for sale and new account for the user.

In responsive to the request sent by the third-party application, theauction facility 700 performs actions that pertain to the electroniccommerce as per requested by the third-party application. When theactions are completed, the auction facility 700 communicates a result tothe third party application. The result is in a programmaticallyaccessible format having no setup of layout specification.

In one embodiment, the result is programmatically accessible because thethird-party application must work with an interpreter. In one example,the interpereter is an application routine that can interpret theresults, for example, a local application routine. In an alternativeembodiment, the third-party application itself includes an interpreterhaving the capability to interpret the results and as such no otherapplication is necessary. Either way, the interpreter can be anapplication routine written to parse the result and in doing so, theroutine must know how to interpret the result in the format specified bythe programmatic access application 706. The routine, however, needs notbe written to search for the result through the setup and/or layout asin the case of an HTML data. In one embodiment, the parser mustrecognize various nesting levels of element tags and what theyrepresent. The parser must recognize a start tag for a function-specificelement. The parser must know that another element or elements alwaysfollow the start tag. The elements may contain actual data value thatthat parser needs to read and parse. Further, the parser must be able todistinguish a component family element's tag, and understand thatfollowing it will be either a data element of that family or anothercomponent element in that family definition.

One exemplary routine is an XML parser which is designed to parse (e.g.,interpret or translate) the data. It will be appreciated that otherparser can be used. The necessary parser will depend on the type of thedata format specified and accepted by the auction facility 700.

In another embodiment, the third-party application sends requests thatare referred to as call functions. Each call function specificallyrequests the auction facility 700 to perform a particular task specifiedby the call function. An exemplary call function directs to anelectronic commerce transactions occurring in the auction facility 700.These transactions may include user registration, informationsubmission, information retrieval, information update, a sale, apurchase, an auction, a feedback comment, an access to user profile, oran access to user information such as emails, to name a few. The auctionfacility 700 can specify as many call functionals as desired for itse-commerce purposes.

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of call functions performed at the auctionfacility 700. In one example, the functions are application routinesspecified and recognized by the programmatic access 706. In theseexamples, the call functions are easy to use functions that can performe-commerce related tasks called through the HTTP transport protocol. Inthis example, a standard XML record is used to transport information(e.g., requests and results) between the third-party application and theauction facility 700 via the HTTP transport protocol.

AddItem function 902 is sometimes referred to as “Sell your item.” TheAddItem function 902 sends a request to a platform of the auctionfacility 700 to put an item up for sale. Input arguments for the AddItemfunction 902 define the item being placed on-sale, payment methodsaccepted, shipping regions, how the item is displayed in the on salelists (featuring), and more. An item submitted through AddItem functionis visible on the facility through the normal interface (e.g., the userinterface 704). When the user 716 uses the auction facility 700 throughthe third-party application, the item submitted through this function isalso visible on the user interface associated with the third-partyapplication.

VerifyAddItem function 904 uses the same input arguments as the AddItemfunction 902. The VerifyAddItem function 904 tests a listing of an itemfor sale without actually submitting the item to the facility platform.Under this call function 904 the AddItem function 902 can be tested foraccuracy and errors before actually submitting. Also, the VerifyAddItemfunction 904 returns the fees that would be assessed for the item'slisting, giving a preview of the costs for listing the item.

GetItem function 906 is sometimes referred to as “View Item.” TheGetItem function 906 is used to query to the facility platform andretrieve the information for an item. The GetItem function 906 returnsthe information about the item in a stream that the local applicationroutines use for display. Information returned by GetItem function 906is the same as seen on the main facility site, except the item'sattributes are returned as raw data without the visual formatting of thefacility's website. An example of a format of the information returnedis XML.

RelistItem function 908 resubmits an item for which a previous for salelisting failed to sell. Attributes associated with the item listed carryover to the new listing. This is as opposed to using the AddItemfunction 902 to create the new listing, where all of the attributes mustbe specified again. Also, the fees associated with a relist auction aredifferent from a completely new for sale listing.

ReviseItem function 910 allows for changing a subset of attributes of anitem that has been listed for sale. The function 910 works on items incurrently active on the for sale listings, but changes can only be madeprior to the first bid being placed against the item. This function 910is most important for items that have not elicited bids, to make theitems more enticing and appealing to users viewing the items.

GetSellerList function 912 queries requests to the platform of thefacility and retrieves a list of the items a specified user is selling.An input argument is provided to specify a particular user whoselistings are of interest.

GetBidderList function 914 queries requests to the platform of thefacility and retrieves a list of the items on which a particular userhas placed a bid. An input argument is provided to specify theparticular user bidding on the items.

GetUser function 916 queries requests to the platform of the facilityand retrieve abbreviated information for a particular user. An inputargument is provided to specify the particular user. The GetUserfunction 916 also retrieves information such as the website theparticular user is registered with and the date he last changed his userinformation. The website in this example can be at the third-partyapplications that have integrated the information available on theauction facility into these applications.

GetFeedback function 918 is sometimes referred to as “View Feedback.”The GetFeedback function 918 queries requests to the platform of thefacility and retrieves abbreviated or extended feedback (View Feedback)score information for a specific user.

LeaveFeedback function 920 is available for a user to submit positive,negative, or neutral feedback information about a particular user afterthe conclusion of a transaction. This feedback data can later beretrieved by other users to evaluate the rated user regarding thedesirability of doing business with that user. Feedback data isretrieved by the GetFeedback function 918 discussed above.

GetCategories function 922 GetCategories retrieves a list of allsub-categories that are direct children category nodes to a specifiedparent category. The parent category is specified in an argument such asCategoryParent input argument. The categories returned can be thosecategories specified in a particular web site and an input argument suchas a SiteId argument can be used to submit the request.

GetCategoryListings function 924 returns the items listed (e.g., or saleor for auction) in a specific category. In one example, the output isreturned as a multi-item XML result set that can be ordered by selectfields and that can be paginated. Each item retrieved is returned with alimited subset of the totally item attributes.

GetSearchResults function 926 searches for items on the platform of theauction facility. Input arguments may provide criteria that the auctionfacility uses to perform the search and return items that bear thosecriteria. Items in active listings that meet the specified criteria arereturned in the function's result set and in one example, in the XMLformat.

GetOfficialTime function 928 queries requests to the platform of theauction facility and retrieves the official time when the function iscalled.

GetLogoURL function 930 is used to query requests to the platform of theauction facility and retrieve the logo images, possibly of differentsizes: small, medium, or large. In one example, the third-partyapplications use the URL returned by GetLogoURL function 930 to displaythe logo of the auction facility on the hosting Web page the web sitethat uses the third-party application to access the auction facility.

GetTransactionHistory function 932 queries requests to the platform ofthe auction facility to retrieve of all the transactions associated witha fixed-price auction occurring through the auction facility. Eachpurchase of an item listed in the fixed-price auction categoryconstitutes a transaction. The function 931 thus returns a list of allof the items purchased in the fixed-price auction.

AddToItemDescription function 934 appends text to description field anitem listed for sale. AddToItemDescription function 934 also providesthe ability to add, delete, or change the hit counter associated with alisted item. Adding text to a listed item's description and changing itshit counter specification can be done together in a single call or onlyone of these operations may be performed.

GetAccount function 936 allows a user to retrieve information abouttheir account with the auction facility. A single call to the GetAccountfunctions 936 retrieves one of two types of reports: period or invoice.A period report includes transactions that occurred within a specifiedtime period. Input arguments are provided to define this time period. Aninvoice report may be information pertaining to a monthly invoice.Arguments are provided to specify the month and year identifying theinvoice.

Many of the call functions described above are visible on the facilityof the auction facility 700 as well as the user interface associatedwith the third-party application.

In a preferred embodiment, the third-party applications also includeslocal application routines 720 (FIG. 7) that are programmed to receiveand manipulate results returned at the completion of tasks pertaining tothe function calls. The routines 720 can be an HTML record, or CGIprogram written in C++, Perl, Pascal, or any programming languagecapable of issuing data requests through the Internet 714. The routines720 interact directly with the user 716. The requests generated by theroutines 720 present data to the user 716 in a humanly understandableformat.

The user 716 runs the local application routines 720 which is includedin the third-party applications in order to conduct trading with theauction facility 700 via the host computer 718. The third-partyapplication issue requests that communicate to the call functionsrecognized by the programmatic access 706. The requests send informationto and request for information from a platform of the auction facility700, here, the databases 23. The requests request the auction facility700 to perform a specific tasks called for by the call functionsindicated in the requests. When the auction facility 700 completes thespecific tasks, the auction facility 700 returns results to thethird-party application. The local routines 720 receives and manipulatesthese results in order to send an HTML record to the user 716.

Through sending and getting the information discussed above, the user716 is able to conduct trading via the third-party applicationessentially in the same way the user 716 conducts trading directly withthe auction facility 700.

In another embodiment, the third-party application is installed in amachine used by the user 716 to perform trading. The same methods abovewould apply to this embodiment.

In a preferred embodiment, the call functions are made through separateHTTP requests strings that are sent to the programmatic accessapplication 706. As discussed, the requests are in the XML data formator any other data format specified by the auction facility 700 that isable to convey data in an unformatted version, (e.g., raw data having nosetup and layout specification). The data format must enable easy andsimple extraction of the data values with no interference from thelayout or set up presentation encountered by the HTML data format.

In one embodiment, a format of a function call request varies dependingon the programming language used to create the application. In general,after the XML string has been composed, the request string needs to beconveyed to the auction facility 700 using the HTTP transport protocol.One exemplary format is shown below in which Perl language is used tocreate the XML string request. In one example, the third partyapplication makes a GetItem function 906 which may have the formatbelow.

<?xml version=‘1.0’ encoding=‘iso-8859-1’?> <Request> <RequestUserId>JoeB</RequestUserId> <RequestPassword>SecretWord</RequestPassword> <ErrorLevel>0</ErrorLevel>  <DetailLevel>0</DetailLevel> <Verb>GetItem</Verb>  <Id>268151</Id> </Request>

When a task associated with a particular function call is completed, theauction facility 700 generates a result and returns it to the thirdparty application. The result may have the following exemplary format.(The result below is a response to a GetUser function 916).

<?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“iso-8859-1” ?> <AuctionFacilityName> <AuctionFacilityTime>2000-08-25 5:13:40</AuctionFacilityTime>  <User>  <AboutMe>0</AboutMe>   <BillpointRegistered>0</BillpointRegistered>  <Email>usaAuctionFacility@aol.com</Email>   <IDVerified>1</IDVerified>  <SiteId>0</SiteId>   <Star>0</Star>   <Sunglasses>0</Sunglasses>  <UserId>usa5</UserId>   <UserIdLastChanged>1999-01-1306:15:27</UserIdLastChanged>  </User> </AuctionFacilityName>

When the auction facility 700 completes the tasks pertaining to the callfunctions the results are returned to the third-party application as anXML record. The results are also returned to the third-party applicationthrough separate HTTP strings.

In one embodiment, the results, which are returned as per call functionsare then parsed and manipulated by the local application routines 720.It will be appreciated that the third-party application may itself parseand manipulate the results. The local application or the third-partyapplications have routines that are able to interpret, analyze, orinterpret the results using any application that can parse the results.These routines are also capable of rearranging the necessary informationinto a particular format recognized and understood by the user 716.After parsing the results, these routines can arrange the data into asetup or layout and incorporate them into a customized user interface.Those applications thus manipulate the results and make the resultsavailable to the user 716 through a user interface applicationassociated with the third-party application.

In one exemplary call function, the GetItem function, data values can bedisplayed into individual fields such as the name of the item (the Titlefield), the starting price for the item (StartPrice), and the number ofitems being sold (Quantity). The data values can be displayed on thedisplay window created and customized for the individual business thatuses the third-party application. In one example, a picture of theauction item is also displayed using the URL returned in a PictureURLfield. Some of the return values may lend themselves to other types ofvisual controls, like checkboxes and radio buttons. For example, thepayment options the seller has specified for an item (like thePaymentMOCashiers, PaymentPersonalCheck, and PaymentBillpoint fields)can be displayed using checkboxes.

The data retrieved through the auction facility 700 can be presented tothe end-user a number of ways. One way to present the data is with anHTML page which is programmatically composed using the data values thatare returned from the programmatic access application 706. The pagemight consist of an HTML form, with individual data values displayed inthe various visual controls HTML forms support, like: text, checkbox,radio, and image. This approach allows the data obtained through theprogrammatic access application 706 and the third-party application tobe presented in a standard HTML browser to the user. In another example,a CGI or other programming interface may be needed to send the HTTPrequests, parse the returned data, and to dynamically compose the HTMLpage on which the data is to be displayed.

In another embodiment, a compiled program is used to present theretrieved data to the user. The compiled program has capability to sendHTTP protocol queries and receive the data that these function callsproduce. The program then uses visual controls native to theapplication's host environment to display and edit the returned data. Inone example, an application can be created in C++ for the MicrosoftWindows environment. Native Windows controls like edit boxes, radiobuttons, and checkboxes are used to present the retrieved information tothe end-user. This approach also allows customized interface such asallowing for custom controls, like data grids, to be used for thedisplay of data.

In an alternative embodiment, the programmatic access application alsoincludes routines to handle erroneous requests. Routines havingcapabilities to handle error facilitate and enhance robustness in thelocal application routines. Functions return error code indicate failureof a particular function call. In addition to simple error codes, thelocal application routines can opt to receive brief or verbose texterror messages. With this option, the web site using the third-partyapplication to incorporate data from the auction facility can beprotected from erroneous entries thus, enhancing reliability of the website.

In another embodiment, the local application routines includesinstructions that can arrange the raw data into a customized userinterface that integrates applications from the third-party application718 with the information obtained form the auction facility 700. Thecustomized interface provides specialized operations designed forspecific business needs that may not be available on the auctionfacility 700.

Businesses or startup companies wishing to expand their businessservices may incorporate an already popular auction facility directlyinto their own web sites. This also allows these businesses or companiesto sell items of their own, along side with the popular auctionfacility. Most important, tradings are conducted in a user interfacehaving custom and unique deigns specifically tailored for the needs ofthese businesses or companies.

Additionally, these businesses can implement custom functionalityrelated to an auction facility without needing to implement the platformof the auction facility. These businesses can also develop these customauction or trading applications as boxed software for sale to othercompanies.

Moreover, these businesses or companies may integrate their own productswith those products offered on an auction facility to other companies.

The programmatic access call functions can be customized in that thethird-party applications can specify and control the amount ofinformation returned from the auction facility.

The programmatic access enables the local application routines tointeract with the user. The user interacts with the third partyapplication in essentially the same way as with the auction facility andin some cases, with many more advantageous features not available in theauction facility.

In yet another embodiment, the programmatic access application 706 isprotected by a security scheme. The security scheme centers on the useof session certificates that uniquely identify a particular third-partyapplication and verify that the third-party application has authorizedaccess. The session certificates can be issued by a special securitymanagement agent associated with or being at the auction facility 700(not shown). In one example, each of the session certificates is stringof characters unique to the particular third-party application. Underthis scheme, with each function call, the session certificate for aparticular third-party application is passed along to the securitymanagement agent. The name of the party identified the third-partyapplication is included in the session certificate. The function call isthen authenticated using any conventional security method, e.g., digitalcertificate authentication. For example, the security managementperforms a look-up based on these values (the name, the sessioncertificate and the function call) to determine whether the third-partyapplication is authorized to use the attempted function call.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a business that employs thethird-party application to integrate the information on the auctionfacility 700 into the applications already available on the business'sweb site. The web site 1100 of the present example provides severalservices to users of the web site 1100. The web site 1100 is an on-linecamera shop, for example, ABC-Camera.com 1112. The ABC-Camera.com 1112may have many applications that it offers to its clients, for example,order status 1114, customer service 1116, search 1120, shop cameras1110, and search application 1122 including keyword or category search1124. The ABC-Camera.com 1112 may wish to host auctions 1118.

As discussed above, configuring the web site to be able to host auctionis expensive to say the least. Instead, the ABC-Camera.com 1112 maysubmit the items that it has available for auction to the auctionfacility 700. The ABC-Camera.com 1112 then allows user to conducttrading directly over the web site 1100.

The third-party application in this case can be a local routineapplication connecting to the web site 1100. When a user of theABC-Camera.com 1112 submits a request to the web site 1100, for example,request a listing of all of the current items (e.g., cameras) listed forauction, the information presented in the box 1102 appears on the website. For example, three cameras are currently listed for auction at theauction facility 700. The price 1106 and the number of bids 1108 foreach camera are also listed in the box 1102.

As apparent, the information presented on the web site 1100 is arrangedin a customized layout specifically designed to fit the ABC-Camera.com1112. The embodiments discussed above facilitate the collection of thedata regarding the cameras that are listed on the auction facility 700and enable the arrangement of these data in a way most convenient forthe web site 1100. The incorporation of the data form the auctionfacility 700 thus does not affect other applications unique to the website 1100 of the ABC-Camera.com 1112.

FIG. 11 illustrates yet another example that implements the third-partyapplication embodiments discussed above. In this example, a Golf.com1206 has a web site 1200 having a user interface that includes severalapplications that may be unique to the web site 1200. These applicationsmay include a date information page 1216, a home page 1218, a how toplay golf page 1220, a where to play golf page 1222, a golf columns page1224, a golf tour coverage page 1226, a pro golf shop page 1228, acustom golf fitting page 1230, and a search page 1232. The web site 1200also includes a news coverage section 1208, and a travel section 1210including destination deals 1212 and the like.

Similar to the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the web site 1202 maywish to incorporate the data from the auction facility 700 into the website 1202. Using the third-party application embodiment discussed above,the Golf.com 1206 can uniquely design how it wants the auction data tobe presented to users of the Golf.com 1206. For instance, the Golf.com1206 may wish to display only the name of the item and the price andperhaps, the logo of the auction facility 700 that the Golf.com 1206obtained the data from.

Users of the third-party applications can interact directly with thelive data of the network-based commerce facility while interacting withother unique applications at the same time. Furthermore, the presentinvention allows businesses, companies or developers to create customfunctionality and interfaces for managing trading, auctions, users, anditem lists that best meet these parties' business needs.

The parties that create the third-party applications no longer need toparse the pages of the network-based commerce facility that changefrequently breaking their own applications. These parties thus canextend the reach of the network-based commerce facility to trading onnew platforms and technology, such as handheld devices, web-enabledcellular phones, pagers, and more.

Computer Architecture

FIG. 12 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exemplaryform of a computer system 1000 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one of the methodologies discussedabove, may be executed. In the alternative embodiment, the machine maycomprise a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance or anymachine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specifyactions to be taken by the machine.

The computer system 1000 includes a processor 1002, a main memory 1004and a static memory 1006, which communicate with each other via a bus1008. The computer system 1000 may further include a video display unit1010 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)).The computer system 1000 also includes an alpha-numeric input device1012 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 1014 (e.g., a mouse), adisk drive unit 1016, a signal generation device 1020 (e.g., a speaker)and a network interface device 1022.

The disk drive unit 1016 includes a computer-readable medium 1024 onwhich is stored a set of instructions (i.e., software) 1026 embodyingany one, or all, of the methodologies described above. The software 1026is also shown to reside, completely or at least partially, within themain memory 1004 and/or within the processor 1002. The software 1026 mayfurther be transmitted or received via the network interface device1022. For the purposes of this specification, the term“computer-readable medium” shall be taken to include any medium that iscapable of storing or encoding a sequence of instructions for executionby the computer and that cause the computer to perform any one of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “computer-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to included, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic disks, and carrier wavesignals.

Thus, a method and apparatus for detecting suspicious transactionsoccurring over a network-based transaction facility have been described.Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: communicating with aplurality of third-party applications that are on servers not controlledby a network-based commerce facility via a programmatic accessapplication on a server controlled by the network-based commercefacility to allow indirect transactions between the network-basedcommerce facility and a first plurality of users via the respectivethird-party applications; receiving requests from each of thethird-party applications via a network at the server controlled by thenetwork-based commerce facility, wherein each of the requests is basedon communication between one of the first plurality of users and therespective third-party application that is associated with theparticular one of the first plurality of users, each of the requestsgenerating a call function to interact through the programmatic accessapplication on the server controlled by the network-based commercefacility with a database of the network-based commerce facility toperform an action pertaining to electronic commerce and being one of aplurality of requests recognized by the server controlled by thenetwork-based commerce facility, wherein the call function is customizedsuch that the call function specifies and controls the amount ofinformation returned from the network-based commerce facility;responsive to the requests, performing actions pertaining to electroniccommerce, and communicating via the programmatic access application onthe server controlled by the network-based commerce facility the resultsof the actions to the respective third-party applications that areassociated with each of the first plurality of users in aprogrammatically accessible format, wherein the results includeinformation to be interpreted by an interpreter and to be arranged intoa customized user interface, the customized user interface beingreadable and available to the first plurality of users communicatingwith the third-party applications; and communicating directly with asecond plurality of users via the programmatic access application on theserver controlled by the network-based commerce facility to allow directtransactions between the network-based commerce facility and the secondplurality of users, wherein the server communicates differently whencommunicating with the second plurality of users compared to whencommunicating with the first plurality of users via the third-partyapplications.